Pasts Best Left Buried
by Myra109
Summary: When a strange letter arrives at the office of Olivia Benson, she'll reopen a five year old case involving a child molester, a murder, a runaway, and an emotionally distraught victim. In order to put the child molester behind bars for a murder, she must find the runaway, Leo Valdez, who has not been seen in almost a year. Will Leo talk? Or is his past better left buried?
1. Find The Runaway

_Hello, this is my first Law and Order crossover and the first Law and order story I've posted. Tell me what you think!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, HOO, or Law and Order SVU_**

 ** _WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF MURDER_**

* * *

Olivia Benson was not used to strange letters on her desk. They came, but rarely, and when they did come, they were never good.

"Olivia, a letter came for you!" Cragen called, dropping a manilla folder on her cluttered desk.

"Thanks, Captain," she responded.

"Who's it from?" Elliott asked, sipping his coffee.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I wasn't expecting anything."

She pried the letter open with her fingernails and pulled out the first of several papers, frowning.

"What is it?" Elliott questioned, noticing her change in expression.

"It's a missing poster from five years ago. Chance Walker," she replied, displaying the black and white paper.

Missing was scrawled across the top in bold. The picture of a boy around eleven with a bright smile stared up at her.

"Chance Walker?" Cragen said, looking up at the name. "I remember that case. Blonde boy, eleven years old, goes missing without a trace. He was in a foster home with two other kids and a single foster father. Foster father and brother were on a bike ride because the boy was new to the home, and the man wanted to get to know him a bit better. Since Chance had a disability and the other foster brother was recovering from a broken leg, they left them with a babysitter. They came home, no one was there. She was arrested and killed herself in jail three weeks later."

Elliott frowned. "How do you remember so much about the case?"

"There was something strange about the case," Cragen explained. "I didn't think the babysitter did it, but there was no other evidence. No witnesses."

"What about the other foster kid?" Munch wondered.

"He ran away from the hospital. Some thought he did it, but both boys were eleven, and the runaway was much smaller than Chance. Even if Chance had a disability, he would've been able to get away from the kid easily."

"What was his name?" Fin asked.

"Leo Valdez," Olivia said before Cragen could open his mouth.

She displayed another paper, which contained two side by side photos.

One was of an eleven year old boy with a black eye and a split lip, his eyes dark, as though something behind them had broken.

The second was of a sixteen year old kid, laughing and smiling. The picture was zoomed in, but he was holding hands with someone, probably his girlfriend.

Despite the age difference, the boys were obviously the same person.

Above the photos, the name Leo Valdez was written, and below them was a message:

 _Speck's a liar. Find the runaway. He'll tell you everything._

* * *

 **THE HOME OF JORDAN SPECK**

 **FORMER FOSTER FATHER OF LEO VALDEZ, CHANCE WALTER, AND CHAD CARRACE**

Olivia knocked on the door of Doctor Jordan Speck, who opened it shortly after.

Jordan was an inch shorter than Elliott with neatly combed brown hair and blue eyes. His nose was short and thick, and his skin was pale; he was dressed in a gray T-shirt and jeans.

"May I help you?" He asked, politely.

Elliott and Olivia flashed their badges.

Jordan blinked, clearly not expecting them.

"Come on in, Detectives," he instructed, stepping aside and allowing them in. "What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering about an old foster child of yours. Leo Valdez?" Elliott said.

Jordan's eyes widened. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while. What do you need to know?"

"Have you heard from him?" Olivia interrogated.

"Not since he ran away after... after Chance," Jordan choked out, almost unable to force out Chance's name.

"Is it true that Leo was there the night Chance disappeared?" Elliott asked.

Jordan nodded. "When we got home, Chance and the babysitter were gone. Leo was sitting in the corner, trembling with this glazed look in his eye. She drugged him, and then, although I can't prove it, I think she killed Chance right in front of him. Something terrible had to have happened for him to have such a... traumatized look in his eye."

Jordan's eyes were far away, but as he finished the horrible tale, he shook his head and brought himself back down to earth.

"Does Leo have anyone he would go to?" Olivia continued. "Friends, family?"

"Not that I know of," Jordan responded. "His mother's dead; father left before he was even born; remaining family threw him to social services, thinking the eight year old kid killed his mother. After that, he was tossed from foster home to foster home, always running away. When he came to me, he had a black eye and a split lip from getting jumped while living on the streets."

Olivia nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

"Well, what now?" Olivia questioned. "No other leads."

Elliott shrugged, sighed, and picked up the side by side photos of Leo Valdez.

"Hey, Liv," he suddenly said, realization creeping into his voice. "Look in the background."

He showed her the photo, and she stared hard at the fuzzy background.

"Chaplan's Café," she said. (Totally made up place)

A new lead.

* * *

 **CHAPLAN'S CAFÉ**

 **OWNED BY CHRIS CHAPLAN**

"Have you seen this boy?" Olivia asked Chris Chaplan as she showed him the photo of sixteen year old Leo Valdez.

Chris Chaplan was a short, chubby man with quite the gut growing. He wore an apron, and he was in his fifties with gray hair threading the sparse amount of brown curls left on his head. He seemed friendly, and his smile was bright.

Chris examined the photograph.

"Yeah," he finally said. "He came in here last Friday with his girlfriend. Rather pretty girl; her name was Calypso, like that Greek goddess. Said it was her first time in the States, so he was taking her all over New York."

"Did he mention where they lived?" Olivia asked.

"No, but I did overhear them talking about their plans. I think they have plans for months. He said they were going to Time Square the next day."

Elliott nodded. "Good. Thank you."

* * *

 **AEROPOSTLE, TIME SQUARE**

"There's dozen of stores here," Elliott muttered. "There's no way we'll get through them all."

Olivia shrugged and approached the front desk in the store Aeropostle.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you know this boy?" She asked the teenage boy behind the counter.

He nodded. "Yeah. He's right there."

He pointed over Olivia's shoulder, and the detectives turned to see that Leo Valdez stood beside a pretty girl closer to the door as she rifled through clothes.

"That was fast," Elliott muttered, not believing their good fortune, before he and his partner approached the couple.

"Out of everything in New York, I cannot believe you keep coming back to this store," Leo laughed.

The girl smiled. "Hey, in my defense, yesterday, I was wearing a Greek dress. And you thought you were behind in fashion, Mr. Suspenders."

"I'll have you know suspenders are very fashionable, Sunshine," Leo chuckled.

"Excuse me?" Elliott interrupted. "Are you Leo Valdez?"

The teenage boy immediately became suspicious.

"Who wants to know?" He asked.

Elliott flashed his badge.

Leo gulped. "You're not dragging me back to social services, are you?"

Olivia smiled and shook her head. "No. We're here to ask you about Chance Walker."

Leo paled. "Calypso," he addressed the girl. "Head back to camp. I'll call Annabeth later and give you an update."

"But, Leo-"

"Calypso, I promise I will tell you everything. Just not right now, okay?"

Calypso nodded and left the store.

"How about you come back to the station?" Olivia asked.

"I will only answer your questions if you promise not to force me back into a foster home."

Olivia nodded. "We won't involve social services."

Leo nodded and followed the detectives to their car.

Olivia slid the papers across the table to show Leo.

* * *

"Do you know who sent these?" She asked.

Leo didn't even hesitate. "Chad. He's the only one, other than me, who knows."

"Knows what?"

Leo swallowed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Leo-"

"No. I've gotten my life together. I'm off the streets; I have a girlfriend, friends, a family, and if I have to remember that one night, I'll have to remember everything. Whenever the memories start coming back, everything falls apart. I can't have it fall apart again," Leo stressed.

"Leo, what about Chance? He was never found. You can get justice for him," Olivia said.

Leo seemed to consider this for a moment.

"She didn't kill him," he finally voiced.

Olivia blinked. "The babysitter."

Leo smiled, faintly. "Sarah. The highlight of our time with _Him_ was when Sarah came."

"Him? You mean Jordan Speck?"

Leo flinched at the name, but he nodded.

Olivia, slowly, leaned forward, her eyes concerned. Realization was beginning to dawn on her.

"Leo... what did he do?"

Leo shifted in his chair. "He... he killed him."

Oliver was taken aback. She'd suspected, but to hear Leo tell her so quickly was slightly shocking.

"Why?" She whispered.

"He didn't mean to," Leo murmured. "He hit Chance, and Chance hit him back. They started fighting, and he... he snapped Chance's neck. He panicked, threatened to kill Chad if Sarah and I didn't go along with the plan, and vice versa with Chad. I was scared. I ran away from the hospital. I didn't want to go back to Him."

Tears rolled out of Leo's eyes and down his cheeks.

"I left Chad with a monster," he murmured. "Oh, gods."

Olivia reached forward and grabbed Leo's hand.

"Leo, I'm sure you'll be glad to know that Jordan Speck stopped fostering kids after that. Chad was moved into another home."

"Can I see him?" Leo asked.

"We're going to find him, and then, yes."

"Can I call my friends, just to... explain?" Leo asked.

Olivia nodded. "Of course. I'll get you a phone."

Olivia left the Interrogation room and found Cragen and Elliott outside.

"There's more to the story," she said right off the bat. "I don't think he's lying, but he's definitely not telling the whole truth."

Cragen nodded. "I'm gonna have Huang interview him. Whatever happened, it messed that kid up, even if he's good at hiding it. Let's see if Huang can get him to talk."

* * *

 _How was the first chapter?_


	2. What Remains

_I'm back!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF MURDER AND RAPE AND ABUSE, MEMORIES OF RAPE (ITALICIZED)_**

* * *

Leo's call to Annabeth was half an hour long and fifteen minutes of it was spent listening to her rant about why the police had wanted to speak to him and what he had done and so on.

Leo loved Annabeth. She was like a big sister to him, but she sure knew how to jump to conclusions.

"Annabeth, I didn't do anything."

That's why I'm here, Leo thought before shoving the thought aside.

"Look, a few years ago, one of my foster brothers disappeared. I witnessed something that may be able to lead them to where he is."

"What?"

"I witnessed his murder," Leo blurted.

Annabeth was silent for far too long, in Leo's opinion.

"Leo... why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Because if I had to remember one night, I'd have to remember everything. Annabeth, I ran from the memories for years because as soon as the remembering started, everything fell apart. Every single time. I didn't want this to fall apart."

"Leo, it won't. We're your family. We're always gonna be here for you."

That's what everyone else said.

Leo violently tossed the thought from his mind. No, he would not think like that. Not now. Not when he had Calypso and the seven and Harley and-

"They'll forget about you."

Leo whirled around in his chair to face the corner of the interrogation room.

Standing there was Chance Walter.

Chance wasn't real, of course. He was dead. But the hallucination felt so real, it automatically caused beads of sweat to pop up on Leo's forehead.

"Chance," he murmured.

Chance's eyes darted up to look at the mirror.

"They're watching you," Chance said, flatly. "Don't talk to me."

Leo turned back to the phone.

"Annabeth... I have to go. They're looking for the other foster kid, Chad. With our statements, they'll be able to arrest the guy who did it."

Annabeth sighed. "Okay, Leo, but I want a full explanation when you return. No vague stories."

Leo nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him.

"Okay. I'll see you guys... maybe today, few days from now. Soon."

"All right. Stay safe. Call us if you need anything."

"I will."

Leo hung up.

The fire user watched as Chance sat across from him.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered to the table, too low for anyone on the other side of the window to hear.

"I always show up when the memories return," Chance stated as though it were obvious.

"But I don't want you here," Leo hissed.

"And I don't care. You can't make me go away. You can run all you want, but I'll always come back."

Leo gulped. "Just leave, Chance."

"There's only one way to get rid of me."

"How?" Leo demanded.

"You know how."

With one last nod, Chance vanished.

The door suddenly opened, and an Asian man stepped inside.

"Hello, Leo. I'm Dr. Huang."

"You're a therapist," Leo realized.

Huang smiled. "How could you tell?"

"I've been to my share of therapists. Trust me, none of them ended well."

"Maybe I'll be different."

Leo nodded, although he wasn't convinced.

"So, Leo, what did Dr. Speck do to you?"

Leo opened his mouth to allow the lie to slip off his tongue when someone cleared their throat.

Leo looked over Huang's shoulder and met Chance's eyes.

Huang frowned and turned, seeing no one. He spent back around to see Leo still staring at the same empty spot on the wall.

"Leo?"

Leo snapped out of it and looked Huang in the eyes.

"Sorry. Uh, he hit us, mostly. He would sometimes beat us-"

"Weak," Chance cut Leo off. "Tell him the truth."

I can't, Leo thought.

"You can, too."

"He used to come after me with a belt, and-"

"Chad always said you were the brave one," Chance growled.

"He would kick Chance in the legs, and that would cause the pain in his legs to be so bad that he couldn't walk at all, not even limp. He'd have to crawl around for days."

"Chad admired you. I admire you," Chance whispered.

"He drank a lot, and..."

Tears filled Chance's eyes, something Leo had never seen in the hallucination.

"Get justice for us. You are the brave one, after all."

"He would insult us all the time."

"Be brave."

"He... he snuck into my room at night," Leo choked out. "He did it to all of us, but... he seemed to be the most obsessed with me for some reason."

"Do what?" Huang asked.

Huang knew. Leo knew. But Huang needed an official statement.

"He raped us," Leo murmured.

 _Hands running over his legs..._

 _Lips sucking on his neck..._

 _A hand slipping into his pants..._

 _Unbearable pain as He thrust inside of him..._

 _A horrid voice gasping in his ear: "Such a good boy, Leo. Be my good boy."_

Leo shot to his feet and barely made it to the trashcan before his lunch rose in his throat and gushed past his lips.

After Leo had finished vomiting, gentle hands helped him resume standing upright.

Chance was in the corner, smiling.

"Brave," Chance murmured.

Leo nodded, and Huang looked over his shoulder again, only to find no one there.

* * *

"What do you think?" Cragen asked Huang as he exited the interrogation room.

"Well, Leo definitely suffers from PTSD, but I also believe he suffers from hallucinations."

Olivia frowned. "Where'd you get that?"

"Leo kept focusing on empty spots in the room. He also nodded at something over my shoulder, but no one was there. I can't know for sure until he has an evaluation, but it's a plausible theory," Huang answered.

"That poor kid," Elliott muttered. "Any luck finding Chad?"

"We called his mother (he's been adopted) in New Jersey. She said Chad's staying with his adoptive father this week... in Downtown Manhatten," Cragen said. "I just sent Fin and Munch there."

* * *

 **THE HOME OF JOHN CUMMINGS**

 **DOWN TOWN MANHATTEN**

Fin knocked on the door, and moments later, a tall, brown haired man answered it.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Cummings?"

He nodded. "Speaking."

Fin and Munch flashed their badges.

"Could we speak with your adopted son? Chad?" Munch asked.

"Why?"

"We believe he may be of help in an investigation to find a missing kid, one of his previous foster brothers," Fin told him.

"Okay," Mr. Cummings said, frowning. "He's actually out right now."

"Did he say where he was going?" Fin questioned.

"Well, to be honest, Chad was acting kind of weird. I mean, he's always... odd, but never like this. All he said was that it was time for him to meet Chance," Mr. Cummings explained.

Munch and Fin exchanged glances.

"Thank you. That'll be all."

* * *

"What do you think that means?" Fin asked Munch.

"It sounds like suicide," Munch admitted, picking up the pace.

"I'm gonna call Elliott," Fin said from the passenger seat as they sat in the car.

* * *

"What's going on?" Olivia asked as Elliott hung up the phone.

"That was Fin. They just left Mr. Cummings's house. Mr. Cummings told them that Chad was going to meet Chance; they believe he's going to commit suicide," Elliott said, quickly, as he stood.

"Where would he go?" Olivia questioned.

"They've called the phone company. They're trying to get a tracker on his phone," Elliott said. "They said we should probably get down there."

Olivia nodded as they walked out of the precinct.

In the back hallway, Leo lurked in the shadows, having left the Interrogation room.

Chad was missing.

And Leo knew where he was.

* * *

Leo found the door ajar.

His hands were shaking like mad. His legs were trembling so much, Leo feared they'd fail and give out. His breathing wasn't coming easy at all.

Music blared from inside. He'd always played music, but not this kind. This was rock and roll. He'd never played this.

He couldn't believe he was back here...

Memories were coming fast, like a movie on fast forward.

 _Fingernails digging into his thigh..._

 _Begging for it to stop..._

 _Pain all over, but especially where He was thrusting inside..._

 _Teeth biting his neck..._

 _Lips bruising his..._

 _Hands everywhere: under his shirt, in his hair, in his pants..._

 _Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop..._

 _Hands around his neck..._

 _"Stop, please! Please..." Leo had sobbed over and over again..._

 _"My sweet boy" was the only response he got from Him..._

Leo slowly pushed the door to the house of Jordan Speck open.

And just over the music, he heard the sound.

BANG!

* * *

 _REVIEW!_


	3. That Night(mare)

**THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE GOING TO UNDERSTAND THIS CHAPTER: Leo is having a flashback that is merging with the present. Almost every other line is a part of a flashback. The** _italicized_ **sections are flashbacks to the day Chance died. The** normal **text is present day. Hopefully, you'll be able to follow it because I've never written a chapter that did that before, so hopefully, I did a good job.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 _WifeofJaceHerondale:_ is this update soon enough? Most of the chapters are already pre-written, and I just have to edit them, so you're in luck with this story

 _NightShapeShifter:_ Thank you for review! I'm glad you like the story.

 _GF1920 (Guest):_ Thank you for the review. It really made my day!

 _Awesome (Guest):_ I agree with what you're saying, but here is why I showed a more vulnerable, OC Leo.

1\. Some things people can't put a wall around. Leo is strong, but even he has his breaking points. Sexual assault would lead to PTSD. That's why Leo never simply brushed off any questions about this foster him with a joke. He said he always ran when the memories resurfaced.

2\. The detectives could send him back to social services if he didn't answer their questions, which was Leo's main reason for going through the interrogation.

Thank you for the review. You did bring up a good point.

 **I hope I got everyone, but I'm doing this off of my email, so sorry if I forgot one of the reviews.**

 **WARNINGS: MEMORIES OF RAPE AND MURDER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.**

* * *

 _It was a Saturday night when It happened._

Tonight was Saturday.

 _Leo, Chad, and Chance sat trembling on the couch, clutching each other like life lines._

Leo reached out and gripped the hand of Chance the Hallucination. Even if he wasn't real, it felt good to have something to hold onto.

 _He beckoned to Leo._

Chance tugged Leo along.

 _"Stand, boy," he commanded._

"Be brave, Leo," Chance murmured.

 _He always acted so stiff and strict before, but while he was hurting them, he melted. The harsh_ _exterior melted away, but they were more scared of the interior than what lay on the outside._

Leo was sure that He hadn't changed. Leo could only pray that he only experienced the exterior tonight. Assuming, He was still alive

 _On shaking legs, Leo stood and walked to the center of the living room._

On trembling legs, Leo stumbled through the hallway.

 _This was a normal occurrence for them. And he hated it._

He still felt shudders run up and down his back as though the frigid hands were still rubbing over his skin.

" _Strip."_

Leo clutched his jacket around his body. Even passing through the living room reminded him of the humiliation that came with being seen without clothes by three people he barely knew.

 _Leo slipped off his jacket first before sliding his shirt over his head. Tremors ran through his fingers as he unbuttoned his pants and slipped them and his boxers off._

Leo could barely breathe as memories crashed over him.

 _Speck lightly touched his fingers to Leo's shoulder and dragged his frigid fingertips over Leo's skin barely grazing it._

Leo felt those fingertips touch his shoulder, and he spun around. Of course, no one was there.

 _Leo knew better than to speak. Leo knew what He could do to him, should he open his mouth or move unless instructed._

Leo kept silent, and it wasn't just because of the fear that came with venturing into the house. It was as though he were still afraid of getting punished if he uttered a single word without permission.

 _A hand ran down his back before He shoved him forward, causing Leo to tumble, his knees and palms harshly banging against the hard wood floor._

Leo placed a hand on the wall to steady himself. He would not pass out. He had to keep going. For Chad. For Chance. For himself.

 _Leo was raped right there on the floor while a video camera rolled, and his foster siblings were forced to watch_.

Leo sobbed, silently. He glanced around, searching for the red light of the video camera, finding it in the air vent. There were cameras in every room; they were used to catch every Special Moment- as He called them- with the boys.

 _When He was done, He helped Leo stand and dressed him, watching as Leo slowly sat on the couch, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain._

Leo cringed. Phantom pains were running through his body, and he stabbed his teeth so hard into his lower lip, he drew blood.

 _Speck dragged Chance to his feet and gestured for him to strip._

"It's okay," Chance the Hallucination mumbled.

 _Chance shook his head._

"It'll all be okay," Chance repeated _._

 _"Now," He growled._

Except it wouldn't be.

 _Chance shook his head._

"Be brave," Chance instructed.

 _Speck grabbed Chance and shoved him into a wall._

Leo ran his hand over said wall. Speck had forced Chance and Leo to repaint the area and cover the blood that night. Once it was dry, he'd called the police and set the plan into action. The police hadn't looked twice at the wall.

 _Leo heard the CRACK! from where he sat._

That awful sound still rang in his ears.

 _Chance slumped forward._

Chance's grip on Leo's hand tightened.

 _Speck panicked. He raced across the floor and started shaking Chance, but Chance refused to wake up._

They were nearing the bedroom. Most of the **Special Moments** (notice the bitterness here) had taken place there.

 _Speck took Chance's pulse and cursed._

Leo felt sick.

 _"Get up!" He growled before dragging Chance off, ensuring that no blood got on the floor._

Leo stumbled, and Chance grabbed the back of his shirt to help steady him.

 _Leo and Chad obediently leapt to their feet, crying silent tears as their brother's body was taken away._

One more hallway to walk through, and he'd be in the bedroom.

 _Speck returned with paint cans and instructions to paint over the blood on the wall before He raced back to His bedroom._

One step, two step, three step...

 _Leo and Chad did what He asked, afraid of being next._

He could do this...

 _After Leo and Chad were done, He tossed the paint cans in the dumpster three blocks from the building._

No, he couldn't...

 _When He returned, He grabbed Leo's wrist and injected something into Leo's arm._

A few more steps...

 _The next three hours were a whirl of colors, noises, and lights, but Leo didn't comprehend any of it. For a few hours, he even forgot Chance was dead. That was the only good part about being drugged._

Leo had to stop. One more step, and he'd get sick.

 _When the world cleared up and the drug wore off, Leo realized what had happened._

"Keep going," Chance urged, gently. "For me. For Chad."

 _He'd witnessed his brother's death, helped to cover up a murder, and now, he and Chad would have to return to that monster. And someday, He'd kill them, too. Leo knew it._

Leo took another step.

 _Leo didn't even realize what he was doing. Next thing he knew, he was out of his hospital gown, in his old clothes, and leaping out of the first story of a hospital._

Three more steps, and he'd be in the true danger zone.

Every time the memories threatened to creep back in, he'd run. He'd run from them, but he couldn't run from them forever. That was why he had to do this.

One step forward.

He couldn't run anymore. He was tired of it.

Two steps.

He would never be ready.

Three steps. He was at the door.

"Be brave," Chance whispered.

He opened the bedroom door.

"Chad," he called.

Chad and Speck turned to face him.

"Chad," Leo repeated. "Put the gun down."

* * *

 _I know the chapter was kind of graphic, but I had to include the memory to tie up any loose ends._

 _Review!_


	4. Put The Gun Down

_I'm back!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: ATTEMPTED RAPE (NONGRAPHIC), MURDER (NONGRAPHIC)_**

* * *

Chad glanced at him, the gun shaking in his hand as he pointed it at Him.

"N-No," he stammered.

The man sighed. "Leo, thank goodness you're here. Stop this lunatic."

Leo took in a shaky breath. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Chad."

"If you're doing it for me, then let me shoot him!" Chad shouted, jerking forward, the gun hitting His head and causing Him to flinch.

"Chad, I love you," He said, and if Leo didn't remember what he'd done to them, he'd believe Him.

"No!" Chad screamed.

Leo was much more calm with his response because he'd faced Gaea; he could face Him, too.

(Except he wasn't as confident as he tried to convince himself that he was)

"You never loved us. If you did, you would've stopped when we said no. When we begged for you to stop," Leo said, slowly. "You didn't. You kept... touching us, even when we pleaded for you to stop. If you really loved us... you would've listened."

"Leo, Chad-"

"You killed Chance!" Chad cried.

Speck sighed. "Chad, that boy was so disobedient. He didn't understand that actions have consequences. He needed to go."

Before Chad could even open his mouth, Leo growled:

"Actions have consequences, so... why aren't you sitting in a jail cell?"

"Leo, I love you so much. I've always loved you," He said.

Leo sobbed, unable to suppress his emotions any longer.

"Stop saying that," he cried. "I don't want to hear it!"

Chad placed his finger on the trigger.

"Leo, let me do it," he begged.

Leo wanted to. Oh, he wanted the man dead and in the ground so badly.

But he knew his mom wouldn't want him to think like that. She'd want him to be strong, and being strong was putting the gun down and locking that man away.

Leo shook his head. "Chad, put the gun down. He should rot in a jail cell until his dying day, but he won't if you don't put the gun down."

Chad saw his reasoning, but still, the gun did not lower.

"What would Chance want?"

"He'd want me to shoot the son of a bitch!" Chad answered, although he didn't look convinced of his own words.

"No, he wouldn't," Leo said. "He'd want that man locked away for the rest of his life. He'd be surrounded by murderers, rapists, and so many other criminals. He'd finally know what we felt like everyday when we feared for our lives."

Chad was sobbing by now.

"I'll never feel safe as long as He's alive. I can't deal with knowing He's out there! Even if He's in jail, I won't feel safe."

Leo didn't know how to respond. Maybe it was because he knew that he'd always feel the same way.

Chad laughed without humor. "Killing Him is easy. Locking Him up is hard. You were always the brave one; I always took the easy way out."

Leo took a step forward.

"Chad, you are brave. Chad, we may be cracked, but we are not broken. We survived what He did; the worst is over."

Chad shook his head. "Is it? I'd rather still be living with Him than having to deal with the aftermath. At least I'd know what was coming! I wouldn't have to deal with the fear I feel in crowded places or even isolated places, thinking He's right behind me. I wouldn't be afraid to sleep, scared that He may sneak into my room in the middle of the night. I wouldn't sleep with a baseball bat under my bed!"

"-And I wouldn't see Chance around every corner. I wouldn't run away when the memories start resurfacing. I wouldn't sleep with a screwdriver under my pillow. I wouldn't have almost stabbed one of my friends with it when they woke me up because I thought she was Him. I'm in the same boat as you, Chad. But I'm not holding the gun, even though I want to."

Chad let loose a raspy sob. "That's because you're brave. I'm not."

"Then, be brave!" Leo urged. "Put the gun down. Show Him that He did not break you. A broken person would shoot him. A strong person would get justice. They wouldn't just become like Him. You're not a murderer; you're not Him. So listen to me, and put the gun down!"

Chad bit his lip before dropping the gun.

Leo rushed forward and kicked it under the bed, out of reach of any of them, before hugging Chad tightly.

Chad sobbed into Leo's shoulder. "Thank you for stopping me," he murmured.

"That's what brothers do," Leo told him.

Chad sobbed harder.

They'd both forgotten He was there.

A hand latched onto Chad's collar, yanking him away from Leo and holding him in place by wrapping an arm around the boy's chest.

Speck pointed the gun at Chad's temple.

"Never turn your back," He smiled, cruelly.

Neither boy dared to the move. The twitch of an eye could set Him off.

"What do you want me to do?" Leo whispered.

They'd played this awful game many times before. Speck would use one of the boys to get the other two to do what He wanted. He usually used this technique when one of them just arrived and still had fight left in them.

"Undress," Speck instructed.

With that single word, Leo felt like crying.

A hand slipped into his. Chance.

"Be brave," he murmured.

Leo felt his hands heat up, his emotions running wild and taking his powers with them.

Wait. His powers.

A plan began forming in Leo's mind.

Leo unzipped his jacket and let it fall to the floor before stripping off his shirt, trying to push down a blush when He looked him up and down.

"You've developed nicely," He smirked.

Leo resisted the urge to tell the pervert where He should put His comments.

"Leo," Chad said. "You don't have to do this."

"I let you down once, Chad," Leo said. "I'm not going to let you down again."

Leo finished doing what He told Him, too, and once he was standing only in his boxers, he stood tall and glared at Him.

Speck dragged Chad over and shoved him aside, the gun still digging into Chad's chest.

Speck leaned down to Leo's height and kissed him.

That's when Leo put his plan into action.

He lit his hands on fire and pressed them against His chest.

Speck screamed in agony, and although the gun went off inches from Leo's ear, Leo didn't even register the sound.

All he comprehended was Chad staring at him with a hole in his chest before falling to the ground.

This was not a Hollywood movie kind of thing. The gun went off; Chad's legs gave out. The only in between was the shocked glance Chad managed to give Leo before he tumbled to the ground.

"Chad!" Leo cried.

He grabbed the gun from the floor and tied Him up (Leo had learned how to tie a person up in ten seconds flat from one of his previous foster sisters. He didn't even want to know how she knew how to do that).

Once He was tied up, Leo knelt beside Chad and cradled him in his arms.

"Chad, I already lost Chance. Please don't leave me, too," Leo sobbed.

"Leo, I'll-I'll be with Chance again," Chad said, as though Leo hadn't spoken. "Be brave, Leo. For the three of us."

Chad Cummings died right there on that floor.

Leo looked up from the bloody body in his arms to Him.

"I just have one question," he said.

"Fire away," He muttered.

"What did you do with Chance's body?"

Speck smirked. "Check the closet."

Leo couldn't tell if He was lying or not.

Leo stood, gently laying Chad on the ground, and opened the door to the walk in closet.

"The trunk on the floor," He called. "I hid it whenever the police came."

Leo opened the trunk and screamed in horror when he found that He was not lying.

The skeleton of eleven year old Chance, his blonde hair laying in clumps all over his skull lay curled up in the bottom of the trunk.

Leo sobbed, but he closed the trunk and pulled it out of the closet.

Chance Waters deserved a proper burial.

Leo abandoned the trunk just outside the door of the closet and returned to Chad's side.

The gun lay on the floor between Him and Leo, but Leo didn't grab for it.

As though reading His mind, Leo replied, "I will not become a murderer like you."

An urgent knock sounded on the door.

"Police, open up."

Not even three seconds later, someone kicked in the door, and footsteps raced around.

A gun and a single brown eye peered into the bedroom before Olivia burst inside.

"They're in here!" She shouted over her shoulder.

Elliot raced through the doorway, and while Olivia laid a coat over Leo's almost naked body, Elliot stormed over to Him.

He cursed at Him in a low voice before untying him and hand cuffing him, reciting his rights and so on.

"The bus is on its way," Olivia assured Leo.

Leo didn't respond. All he did was murmur, "Chance. He never even buried him."

Olivia frowned, and Leo pointed to the trunk next to the closet door.

Olivia stared in realization and horror before her eyes darted to Fin standing in the doorway.

"My God," Olivia muttered before turning back to Leo, who had yet to turn away from Chad's body.

The ambulance arrived, and Leo was loaded onto a stretcher and placed inside.

Olivia rode with him the whole way, questioning him, gently.

Leo answered all of her questions. About Chance and Chad and Him. For once, he told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He didn't withhold a single detail.

The absence of Chance did not escape his notice.

* * *

 _How was it? I know some parts are unrealistic, but isn't Percy Jackson and the characters unrealistic in general? Rick Riordan did a good job with making the characters realistic, but some aspects of a character were unrealistic to me. *shrugs*_


	5. It's Over, Or Is It?

_The final chapter!_

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing_**

 ** _WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF RAPE AND MURDER_**

* * *

 **MERCY HOSPITAL**

"Was he injured?" Olivia asked.

The nurse- a petite woman with dark skin and black hair tied back in a pony tail- shook her head as she examined the clipboard.

"Physically, he's fine," she answered. "Not even a bruise. If he hadn't found a way to defend himself, though, he could've been."

"Physically," Olivia repeated, "and mentally?"

The nurse shrugged. "Too soon to tell, but I do know a few things. He's definitely traumatized, but the first thing he did when he woke up was ask to give his official statement to the police. Didn't ask for friends or even his girlfriend. That seems like a good sign that he wants to talk about what happened, which can help his mental state."

Olivia nodded. "That's good. What about Speck?"

"Badly burned chest, a few bruises, and some rope burn from when Leo tied him up, but beyond that, he's fine. Unfortunately," the nurse muttered. "You can see Leo now."

"Thank you," Olivia responded.

The female detective pushed open the door to Leo Valdez's room, and she found him sitting up in his bed. He was still pale and his hands were shaking, slightly, but when he looked up, she didn't see the look of a traumatized child, at least over all. She saw determination, strength, courage, readiness.

She saw _life_.

"Leo, are you sure you're ready for this?" She asked.

Leo nodded. "I've been putting it off for five years. After five long years, I'm finally ready."

Olivia nodded, giving him a slight smile, before sitting in the chair beside his bed.

"The first time Speck molested me was the first night I lived in his house," Leo said, his voice strong and unwavering. "A long time after I went to bed and fell asleep, I woke up when I felt someone sit on the edge of my bed. I turned over and saw Speck sitting there. I went to ask what he was doing, but he... kissed me before I had the chance.

"I kicked him, and I hit him. He told me to stop fighting, or he'd tie me to my bed for three days with no food or water, and somehow, I knew he would do it. I obeyed him, and he did as he pleased before leaving.

"He snuck into my room every night after that. He didn't actually rape me until the second week I was there, and after the first time, it was every night.

"Every weekend, he would have sessions, as he called them. Him and the three of us would come into the living room, and he would rape each of us in front of the others, video taping it. He would do this from the time the sun went down on Friday to the time the sun rose on Sunday. Over two days of endless rape. Then, sometimes, he'd make us watch the videos. He never made us do anything with anybody else. We were his, and _only_ his.

"The night Chance died, we were having a session. I went first, and then, he called up Chance. Chance stood taller than I've ever seen him, considering the disability in his legs, and he told Speck no. Speck didn't like that. He threatened him, hit him, but Chance didn't back down. Eventually, Speck picked Chance up and threw him into a wall. Chance hit it hard, and it snapped his neck.

"Speck made us repaint the wall to cover the blood, and he hid the body. He threatened us and Sarah into doing what he said. At the hospital, I heard the police saying that Chad and I would be going back to him, so I got my clothes, jumped out the window, and ran. My broken leg was still healing, but even with a broken leg, I can run pretty fast."

Leo sighed. "That's it."

"You're very brave, Leo, and in the midst of this, I do have good news," Olivia stated. "As of tomorrow, it has been five years since you moved into that house. It falls within the statue of limitations. We can try himself for everything. Child abuse, molestation, child endangerment, both Chance and Chad's murders, lying under oath in court several years ago. Everything," Olivia clarified.

Leo smiled. "That's great."

"How are you holding up?" Olivia asked.

Leo shrugged. "Pretty good, considering everything that happened. Chance and Chad would've wanted me to be brave. They always called me the brave one. Chad even did it before he died. I'm going to get justice."

Olivia nodded. "In my opinion, that's the best thing you can do."

Leo nodded. "It is in mine, too."

Olivia stood. "I'm going to go give your official statement to the precinct."

"Wait," Leo called as she placed her hand on the door knob. "Could you do something for me?"

Olivia turned. "What is it?"

"Um," Leo stammered as he grabbed a pen and paper off the bedside table and jotted down a few numbers. "This is my friend's cell phone number. Could you call her to inform her of where I am? I think I owe them an explanation."

Olivia smiled and took the paper.

"Of course. Take care and get some rest," Olivia advised before leaving the room with the paper in her hand.

Leo glanced around the room. He'd just brought up so many memories, but there was something missing.

No Chance.

* * *

 **THE PRECINCT OF THE SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT**

Olivia picked up the phone and dialed the number on the slip of paper.

"Yes?" A girl's voice asked. It wasn't Leo's girlfriend.

"My name is Olivia Benson. I'm with the Special Victims Unit. Are you a friend of Leo Valdez?"

"Yes. Why? Did something happen to him?" The girl demanded.

"He's at Mercy Hospital. Physically, he is unharmed, but he was involved in a dangerous incident. I believe Leo would want to explain it to you; he asked me to deliver this message."

"All right. We'll be right over. Nico!" The girl called before the line went dead.

* * *

 **MERCY HOSPITAL**

The seven, Nico, Will, Harley, Nyssa, Calypso, and Jake raced through the halls of the hospital. They got some weird looks, which was expected since there were thirteen of them and they weren't afraid to knock anybody out of their way.

Annabeth pushed her way to the front desk and stared at the woman standing there.

"Excuse me, we're here to see Leo Valdez," Annabeth informed her.

"Room 102," the woman replied.

"Thanks," Annabeth blurted before the thirteen demigods were off again, dashing through the building to find their friend.

Percy arrived at the door first, and he opened it without knocking (did you expect any different?).

The thirteen children filed into the room, and Nyssa practically tackled Leo in a hug.

Leo looked paler than usual, but other than that, he didn't look much different. One other difference, though, was very obvious.

Leo's eyes were not filled with humor. They displayed happiness, but they were also flooded with determination, bravery, and the readiness of a soldier. He looked like he was ready to go into battle and fight for whatever he was fighting for. That kind of determination.

The thirteen of them took turns hugging him and promising to punch him as soon as he got out of the hospital for 'being a noble, stupid idiot and getting himself into a dangerous situation without asking for help from his friends and family'. Their words, not his.

"Now, Leo, what exactly happened?" Jake questioned as the thirteen of them found chairs from various parts of the hospital and pulled them into Leo's room.

"Don't tell me you stole those from some poor elderly man?" Leo joked as they sat down.

"Don't change the subject," Percy said, "and for your information, it was a poor elderly _woman_."

Leo shook his head with a smile before it dropped so suddenly, the thirteen jolted a bit.

"Okay. It's about one of my foster homes," Leo said. "I moved in with a guy named Jordan Speck, and he already had two foster kids. One was Chad, a shy, timid, obedient kid, and the other was Chance, who was sweet, but he wasn't afraid to fight if he had to. He had a muscle disability in his legs.

"Our foster dad, he... he raped us."

The twelve gaped. Whatever they'd been expecting, it hadn't been that.

Annabeth was a calculating and analyzing person. She examined Leo's movements and his eyes to determine Leo's true feelings about this. She found grief, and he was obviously traumatized, but above all, he looked like he wanted justice and he would do anything to get it.

Annabeth wanted to help him, and she felt awful about what had happened to him, but she couldn't but feel proud of Leo. Not many people would be able to be so strong after something so traumatizing. Leave it to Leo Valdez, I guess.

Leo sighed. "Yeah. Well, he killed Chance and made Chad and I cover it up. I've been running from the memories for years, and when Chad decided to stay in one place, the memories started coming back. The guilt came with it, so he mailed a letter to Detective Olivia Benson, telling her to find me. I told them everything.

"Chad went missing, and I knew where he was. I should've told the detectives, but this was my fight, not theirs. I went to Speck's house, and I found Chad pointing a gun at him. I managed to talk the gun away from Chad, and while we had our backs turned, Speck grabbed the gun and pointed it at Chad.

"He was going to... r-rape me, but I used my powers to burn his chest. When Speck stumbled back, the gun went off, and a bullet went into Chad's chest. He died within minutes.

"I thought you guys needed to know. I'm done running from the memories; I'm done hiding them. Besides, I'm going to need your help getting through court. Court is not fun."

Despite the tears in his eyes, Percy forced a weak laugh.

"Speaking from experience, Valdez?" He chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Leo's sadness automatically evaporated (at least externally).

"It's not my fault that police officer had it out for me! Man, that guy was a jerk," Leo muttered. "Once, he tried to pin losing his badge on me by saying I stole it. I called him stupid in front of the entire station. It was hilarious."

The twelve demigods and Calypso (demi-titan?) laughed.

"So... are you going to start telling us about your past?" Piper asked, hesitantly.

Leo nodded. "I'll tell you some stories right now, but let's hold off on the bad memories. You just got a pretty heavy one. How about the time I pulled the best prank in history? Okay, I had help, but still."

The half bloods leaned forward in anticipation.

"So my friend Carson and I covered the floors of our boarding school in honey. We placed hundreds of paper cups all over the floor, and when people slipped, they'd instinctively reach for the ropes dangling from the ceiling, which rigged boxes of feathers and marbles and dirty socks and tons of stuff to fall on them. Then, I'd press a button that would work a machine to spray silly string all over them."

By the end, all of his friends, his girlfriend, and his half siblings were practically rolling from laughter.

"Best... prank... ever!" Jake gasped.

"You want to know the best part?" Leo smirked.

They all calmed down and stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"We were in a _military school._ "

That only increased the hilarity.

* * *

 **SEVERAL MONTHS LATER- COURTROOM**

"Jury, have you reached a verdict?" Judge Miller asked.

A female member of the jury- a middle aged woman with dark hair and circles under his eyes- stood.

"We have, your Honor," she told her.

"Defendant, please rise," Judge Miller addressed Dr. Jordan Speck, who obeyed.

"On multiple counts of rape in the first degree, we find the defendant guilty. On two accounts of murder in the second degree, we find the defendant guilty. On a count of lying under Oath, we find the defendant guilty. On multiple counts of child abuse, we find the defendant guilty. On multiple counts of child endangerment, we find the defendant guilty. On multiple counts of child neglect, we find the defendant guilty."

Judge Miller turned to Dr. Jordan Speck with barely concealed disgust in his eyes.

"Dr. Jordan Speck, I hereby sentence you to life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years. If you are paroled, you are not to live within a hundred miles of a school, park, playground, or any facility that revolves around children. You will be on the registry as a sex offender, and you will surrender your medical license, considering you treat children. You will also have to remain at least a hundred feet from Leo Valdez."

Judge Miller banged the gavel, and Speck was dragged from the room.

Leo hugged his friends, and when he glanced over Jason's shoulder, he spotted both Chance and Chad standing in the corner of the courtroom.

They nodded at him and vanished.

It was finally over...

Or was it?

* * *

 _There will EVENTUALLY be a sequel. I'm going to work on some of my other Leo Valdez stories first (Pop Quiz! and Mother Teresa, to be more specific), and then, I'm doing the sequel. I'll let you know when the sequel is posted._

 _Also, this was meant to be short. A Law and Order episode is 42 minutes. 1 chapter for minutes 1-10, another for minutes 10-20; a chapter for minutes 20-30; and then I evened it out to five chapters. Basically, it's suppose to be written like an episode (except it's mostly written from the victim's point of view)_

 _Thanks for reading!_


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